Song for the Mute Paris SS2018

Established by Co-FoundersMelvin Tanaya and Lyna Ty after completing their Master’s degree at the University of New South Wales and Accademia Italiana di Moda in Florence respectively.

The design process begins with the fabrics, on which the pair places the utmost significance.

“It evokes an emotion when we touch and feel a fabric. It either stems a concept or a feel of that collection,” Lyna explains.

“Everything happens organically. We don’t force, we just let the fabric speak for itself. We’re discovering the collection as we go.”

The pair takes multiple trips to Japan and Italy each year to source unique textiles and develop relationships with mills that have been creating quality fabrics for generations.

They are heavily influenced by the dedication to craftsmanship that is omnipresent across Japan.

“It’s more than just the fabric mills,”the pair says.“It’s the people and the way that they approach life. We are fascinated about how devoted they are to their craft, even if it’s the simplest of things”.

Over the years, Lyna and Melvin have found that their designs have matured in reflection of their own experiences and inspirations.

The brand name Song for the Mute is an ode to designers’, as well as others’ artistic struggle.

“This is our way to speak our story, through the form of garments, in the hope of inspiring people out there that are just doing things because they are expected to”.

Their intention to create as an act of self-determination and autonomy is more than a brand philosophy; it’s an empowerment.

Presenting each new collection at Paris Fashion Week alongside the finest designers in the world, their thoughtful and conceptual approach earned them the Australian Designer of the Year award in 2011, just one year after the label’s inception.

Today, we learned the sad news of designer Hubert de Givenchy's passing at the age of 91. “It’s the most beautiful job in the world to give happiness to people”, he told AnOther last year on fulfilling his life dream of becoming a designer.

After founding the house in 1952, he championed separates for women, and created looks for Audrey Hepburn – most famously, the little black dress she wore in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's. On his retirement in 1995, the position of artistic director was held by the likes of John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Julien Macdonald, Riccardo Tisci, and most recently Clare Waight Keller. In an archive piece, below, we look back on the influence Tisci's Givenchy in particular had on fashion at large.